The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.
PAST SPOTLIGHTS
If you are a professional working a flexible schedule and would like to share your story in an upcoming Spotlight on Flex, please contact Jane Caldeira.
Spotlight on Flex – Heidi B. (Goldstein) Friedman
The Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.
For August 2018, we are pleased to share insights from Heidi B. (Goldstein) Friedman, Partner at Thompson Hine (Cleveland, OH).
Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success through your schedule?
Heidi (Goldstein) Friedman: There is a reason that I have been at Thompson Hine for 23 years. The firm has always supported my practice as well as my personal life and professional interests. I started flexing my schedule 18 years ago after I had my first child, who is now leaving for college! My initial flexible arrangement started with a slight reduction in overall billable hours, and although I focused on flexibility where I was able to grab it, my goal was to take every other Friday off with my newborn daughter to see what those mommy and me classes were all about. Over time and after I had my son three years later, I would aim to take one day off each week, and I also added some telecommuting to the mix. To me, the key was being able to work flexible hours in a flexible location. As my children grew, so did my practice, and my life circumstances also changed. I was suddenly a single parent and promoted to partner while trying to build a national practice that required quite a bit of travel. There is no doubt that my kids were my priority, and I had to be present in any way I could. At the same time, I wanted every client to feel like they were also a priority (and they are) and that I was honored to be a part of their team.
Spotlight on Flex – Kelsey Morris
The Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.
For July 2018, we are pleased to share insights from Kelsey Morris, Associate, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Irvine, CA)
Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success through your schedule?
Kelsey Morris: Right after law school, I started at Akin Gump’s LA office, and I was there from 2011-2015. I left to complete a one year, federal clerkship with the US District Court for the Central District of California. My daughter was born right at the end of my clerkship in 2016. At this point, I was at a crossroads in my career – I knew I wanted to continue practicing and spend the most time I could with my daughter while she was young. I just didn’t see a path forward at big law that would meet those needs at the time. I decided to start teaching legal writing at USC law school and took on projects as an independent contractor to keep up my legal practice. I was doing this for about five months when a former colleague from Akin Gump called and asked if I would join the litigation practice in the firm’s Irvine, CA office. My daughter was almost a year old, and I had a clearer vision of how I wanted to practice law and how much time I wanted to be available for my family versus work. I knew I wanted to come back and how I wanted to come back.
Spotlight on Flex – Michelle Humes
The Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.
For June 2018, we are pleased to share insights from Michelle Humes, Partner, Shutts & Bowen (Orlando, FL).
Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success through your schedule?
Michelle Humes: Since I can remember (I think I was about seven years old), I always wanted to be a lawyer – my grandfather and uncle are both lawyers. But while in college, I started to have some doubts and wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue school for another three years. I was also worried about being able to balance working as an attorney and eventually having a family. So after college, I took a year off, and through a series of events, ended up working as an assistant at a law firm. I had wanted to be a lawyer, and here I was working at a law firm. I felt like it was fate’s way of telling me to go to law school. Since I was already working in the legal field, I decided to keep working while going to school. I started at Shutts & Bowen as the assistant to the Practice Group Leader (PGL) of the Construction Litigation Group in July 2006. In August 2006, I started in the evening law student program at Barry University; I continued to work full time and went to school at night for three years. In 2009, the firm created a summer associate position for me in the Orlando office. That fall I switched to the full-time program,